The Yreka Miners varsity baseball team earned a hard fought 10-9 victory over Northern Section Division 1 Shasta of Redding on Wednesday at home for the Miners third straight win.

The game was full of highlights, including a dramatic finish to the contest.

After trailing 3-0, Yreka went off for nine runs in the bottom of the third. This included a home run by Michael Schuler. In the top of the sixth, the Wolves had a rally of their own and tied things up at 9-9.

With the score tied at 9-9 the bottom of the seventh inning, and with runners on first and third with one out, sophomore Cade Parker hit a bunt for a squeeze play as junior Matt Jespersen successfully came home from third for the winning score.

When Yreka head coach Jason Freitas called for the bunt, Parker said that, "I was just hoping it would be a fastball." When it turned out to be a fastball, Parker laid out a perfectly timed bunt as Jespersen sped down the baseline and slid safely into home plate as the team and the home fans celebrated.

"It was a great feeling to earn the win," Parker said. "It was great to win one of these close games."

This was the first time this season the Miners have won a close contest after losing a number of close ballgames this year.

Yreka improved to 11-12-2 for the year while Shasta fell to 12-11.

In the top of the first, Shasta scored first thanks to a fielding error, which allowed a Wolves runner to score from third. Yreka made one more fielding error which contributed to a run scoring, as the Wolves held a comfortable 3-0 lead after the top of the third inning.

"We came out flat," Freitas said.

And that's when things quickly changed to the Miner's favor the bottom of the third inning.

The first batter up was Schuler, who smashed a pitch over the Hibbard fence for the solo shot as the crowd erupted in cheers. The home run caused a chain reaction as the Miners bats started to heat up in a hurry.

"Hitting is contagious," Freitas said.

A hit by Andy Andreas brought in two Miner runners to tie things up at 3-3. A short time later, Jacob Harris laced a single to bring in a run and give the Miners the 4-3 advantage. After scoring another run, Yreka scored two more runs thanks to a hit by Schuler and scored two more runs on a hit by Gabe Durney to make things 9-3.

While Shasta came back in the sixth and scored six runs to tie things up, the Miners were able to hold the Wolves in the top of the seventh and scored the winning run the bottom of the inning to pull out the victory.

Page 2 of 2 - Parker finished 2-for-3 with two RBI's and a run. Schuler went 2-for-3 with three RBI's, two runs and a home run. Durney finished 1-for-2 with two RBI's, a run and two walks. Christian Charles went 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Andreas finished 2-for-4 with two RBI's and a run.

After earning the win the day before versus Mount Shasta, Curt Bennett earned another win on Wednesday for the Miners. He came in the ballgame the end of the sixth and pitched the seventh inning. Freitas said that Bennett threw only 37 pitches on Tuesday and said that "he seems to have a rubber arm," Freitas said it felt like it was a good time to put him in after the Wolves had raced back into the contest.

The Miners and Wolves meet again next Wednesday for a game in Redding.

Today is the third straight day Yreka has a game. They will face Mount Shasta for the second time this week at Hibbard Field at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, Yreka defeated the Bears 11-0 in Mount Shasta. At 4 p.m., the Miners junior varsity team will face Hidden Valley of Oregon at Hibbard Field.